The Problem of the Green Capsule [Paperback]

John Dickson Carr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1986

A DR GIDEON FELL MYSTERY. In the quaint English village of Sodbury Cross, pretty Marjorie Wills is suspected of poisoning chocolates in the local confectionary shop. Her uncle, the wealthy Marcus Chesney, believes eyewitnesses are unreliable. To prove his point, he sets up a clever test in front of three witnesses and a camera. They are asked to watch a staged series of events, during which a masked man enters the room to 'poison' Chesney by feeding him a large green capsule. As expected, the experiment concludes and no one can agree on what took place, except that Marcus Chesney is dead . . . How is that possible? And who is the culprit? It takes Dr. Gideon Fell to unravel this Golden Age classic.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘A triumph’ - The New York Times; ‘Very few detective stories baffle me nowadays, but Mr Carr’s always do’ - Agatha Christie

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Born in 1906, John Dickson Carr was an American author of Golden Age 'British-style' detective stories. He published his first novel, It Walks by Night, in 1930 while studying in Paris to become a barrister. Shortly thereafter he settled in his wife's native England where he wrote prolifically, averaging four novels per year until the end of WWII. Well-known as a master of the locked-room mystery, Carr created eccentric sleuths to solve apparently impossible crimes. His two most popular series detectives were Dr. Fell, who debuted in Hag's Nook in 1933, and barrister Sir Henry Merrivale (published under the pseudonym of Carter Dickson) who first appeared in The Plague Court Murders (1934) Eventually, Carr left England and moved to South Carolina where he continued to write, publishing several more novels and contributing a regular column to Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. In his lifetime, Carr received the Mystery Writers of America's highest honor, the Grand Master Award, and was one of only two Americans ever admitted into the prestigious - but almost exclusively British - Detection Club. He died in 1977. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: International Polygonics, Ltd. (December 1986)
• ISBN-10: 0317527266
• ISBN-13: 978-0317527261
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,338,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Too many poisons spoil the broth, June 21, 2005

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Problem of the Green Capsule (Paperback)

John Dickson Carr took a heavy-handed turn toward romance in "The Problem of the Green Capsule," which is why I almost immediately picked out the poisoner. If you think romantically instead of using Carr's carefully scattered clues and logically deducing who poisoned Marcus Chesney on a stage in front of witnesses, you'll have the solution right away. Otherwise, this mystery could prove to be quite a challenge.

Carr's serial detective, the humungous Dr. Gideon Fell doesn't show up until halfway through the book, and three poisoned corpses have already littered the landscape. One of the victims is a little boy who was done in by candy from the local tobacconist's shop. The other two murders occur in the house where, according to local gossip, the child killer lives.

The chief suspect certainly doesn't do herself any favors when she is seen trying to buy poison by the Scotland Yard inspector who is assigned to the case. Earlier in the story, she is also spotted asking the little boy who was poisoned to exchange some candy for her at the tobacconist's shop. I guess if I had been one of the locals, I would have thrown stones at her, too.

The main drawback to this book's readability is the artificial nature of the second murder. How believable is it to have someone set the stage for his own murder, just to prove that eyewitnesses are unreliable? He even writes out a questionnaire for his audience to fill out after his staged murder (which turns out to be real).

Of course Marcus Chesney didn't really expect to get murdered. He was so insufferable about proving the unreliability of eyewitnesses that he made it easier rather than more difficult for the poisoner to strike again.

There really wasn't anyone to like in this book except for Inspector Elliott. All of the other characters were either intellectually arrogant, pompous, obsequious, or hysterical. If you enjoy watching Dr. Fell sorting through his bag of tricks, i.e. snorting, wheezing, coyly hinting, and asking mysterious questions, then enjoy, enjoy. "The Problem of the Green Capsule" has one of John Dickson Carr's most ingenious plots--except for romantics like me.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A poisonous romance, April 22, 2006

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

John Dickson Carr took a heavy-handed turn toward romance in "The Problem of the Green Capsule," which is why I almost immediately picked out the poisoner. If you think romantically instead of using Carr's carefully scattered clues and logically deducing who poisoned Marcus Chesney on a stage in front of witnesses, you'll have the solution right away. Otherwise, this mystery could prove to be quite a challenge.

Carr's serial detective, the humungous Dr. Gideon Fell doesn't show up until halfway through the book, and three poisoned corpses have already littered the landscape. One of the victims is a little boy who was done in by candy from the local tobacconist's shop. The other two murders occur in the house where, according to local gossip, the child killer lives.

The chief suspect certainly doesn't do herself any favors when she is seen trying to buy poison by the Scotland Yard inspector who is assigned to the case. Earlier in the story, she is also spotted asking the little boy who was poisoned to exchange some candy for her at the tobacconist's shop. I guess if I had been one of the locals, I would have thrown stones at her, too.

The main drawback to this book's readability is the artificial nature of the second murder. How believable is it to have someone set the stage for his own murder, just to prove that eyewitnesses are unreliable? He even writes out a questionnaire for his audience to fill out after his staged murder (which turns out to be real).

Of course Marcus Chesney didn't really expect to get murdered. He was so insufferable about proving the unreliability of eyewitnesses that he made it easier rather than more difficult for the poisoner to strike again.

There really wasn't anyone to like in this book except for Inspector Elliott. All of the other characters were either intellectually arrogant, pompous, obsequious, or hysterical. If you enjoy watching Dr. Fell sorting through his bag of tricks, i.e. snorting, wheezing, coyly hinting, and asking mysterious questions, then enjoy, enjoy. "The Problem of the Green Capsule" has one of John Dickson Carr's most ingenious plots--except for romantics like me.